72 Artists & IllustratorsMASTERCLASS
EDGAR DEGAS
Degas was a prolific art buyer, surrounding
himself with the work of artists he
admired. As a friend of the painter put it,
“in the evening he asks himself how he
will pay for what he bought that day, and
the next morning he starts again.”
He acquired a gallery-room’s worth of
Old Masters, from Delacroix to Ingres; the
portraits of the latter had the most
significant impact on Degas’ style.
He also made a point of supporting
struggling artists, such as Paul Gauguin
and English painter Alfred Sisley.
Degas pursued works in homage to the
painters he loved, such as Manet’s The
Execution of Maximilian (1867–8), which
he tracked down after Manet’s death, a
tribute to one of his key influences.LEFT Paul Cézanne,
L’Après-Midi à Naples,
1876-1877, oil on canvas,
30x40 cm
BELOW Hilaire-Germain-
Edgar Degas Self Portrait,
1857-1858, oil on paper,
47x32cmFreud’s later works, it was first sketched out in
charcoal on canvas, and then completed in paint.
Another artist who made it into Freud’s collection
and to whom he constantly returned was Degas. In
photographs of Freud’s studio, books about the French
artist lined the shelves. “Freud has great admiration for
Degas, because of the themes,” explains Anne. “This
sense of intimacy; these pictures of women in their
interiors, bathing themselves, engaged in this private
ritual. Also what interested Freud about Degas was his
technical versatility. The fact that he was always trying
to re-invent the way in which he painted pictures.”
Degas, like Freud, was experimental and gestural in
his strokes, creating figures that were often perceived
as unflattering by the audience. Later in his career,
when he’d moved on to hog-bristle brushes loaded with
paint, Freud found the brutal, loose brushstrokes that
came to define his style. His portrayal of his sitters
could be unforgiving, using corporeal colours for the
flesh, painting clear veins and irregularities on the skin.
Nevertheless, his subjects would often become part of
his household for 18 months or more through regular
sittings (Freud was a notoriously slow painter), and so
the raw intimacy of these portraits shone through.
One of the most arresting works in Freud’s section of
Painters’ Paintings is his own, Self Portrait: Reflection,
(2002). In it, the artist emphasises his deteriorating
physical state, wearing a suit jacket without a shirt that
hangs from his depleted frame. He stands in front of
the ‘wall of paint’ in his studio, built up from years of
flicking pigment from brushes and dried paint tubes as
he worked. It’s layered with his process and memories
of his influences, hardened into a perfect impasto.
Painters’ Paintings From Freud to Van Dyck runs from 22
June to 4 September 2016 at the National Gallery, London.
http://www.nationalgallery.org.ukis painted, which is not typical for Corot,” says Anne,
“there’s a robustness of the touch, it’s tactile, and has
a strong presence. And if you think of Freud’s own
work, it makes perfect sense; the reason why he would
have been attracted to this painting is obvious.”
Freud may have shirked discussion about influence,
but he openly explored the techniques of the masters
in his practice. He even made studies of existing works.
Shortly after purchasing Paul Cézanne’s L’Apres-Midi a
Naples (An Afternoon in Naples), he painted After
Cézanne (1999-2000), a ‘cousin’ to the original.
Freud’s version, a composition of three nude figures, is
almost theatrical, depicting what appears to be a trio
of alienated lovers in a dark, bare room. Like most ofPRIVATE COLLECTION © PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OWNERFREUD HAD
GREAT
ADMIRATION
FOR DEGAS
AND HIS
TECHNICAL
VERSATILITYTHE TIA COLLECTION © JAMES HART PHOTOGRAPHY, SANTA FE, NM70 Lucian Freud2.indd 72 12/05/2016 12:58